James: “I just feel so close to you that the thought of losing you or not having you in my life would kill me. If we dated, and then it didn’t work out between us, maybe we wouldn’t be able to be friends anymore. Don’t you worry about that?”

James Continues…

James: “I mean, it’s not like I’ve never thought about it before. I just don’t want to risk messing up what we already have, because this seems to really work.”

Jenny: “I know, you’re probably right. It just seems like everyone that I date asks me about you, and even feels insecure that we’re such great friends. It’s like they get jealous or something, I don’t know.”

James: “I don’t care what people think. I feel like anyone that really loves me is going to accept the people that are in my life, and who ever I’m close to.”

Jenny: “I know, I feel the same way.”

James: “Do you have anymore questions?”

James asks with a hint of sarcasm.

Jenny chuckles.

Jenny: “No, that’s all.”

Jenny continues…

Jenny: “So, we’re friends, right? Just friends?“

James glances at Jenny, restraining his true feelings.

James: “Yes, of course, always.”

James continues…

James: “It’s just…”

James stumbles on his words, holding back what he’s really feeling inside.

Jenny: “What? What is it?”

James: “Well, I don’t know… It’s just… Well… I love you.”

Jenny delicately curls her lips into what one would consider a heartfelt smile. Her cheeks start to glow, her appearance is so innocent, and pure. James watches her every move.

Jenny: “I love you too, James.”

James: “You never said that to me before.”

Jenny gets quiet, looking down at the floor.

James: “What’s wrong?”

Jenny: “Well, if we love each other, why shouldn’t we be together?”

James: “Because we’re just friends, Jenny.”

James continues…

James: “We’re on the same page right? Just friends?”

Jenny: “Yes, of course. But now I know that you love me, and…”

Jenny stumbles…

James: “And what?”

Jenny: “I suppose now, we can’t be ‘just friends’.”

James gets completely frustrated at Jenny, and at himself for telling her how he really felt. What she didn’t know was to what extent he loved her.

James: “This is what I was afraid of. You asked me how I felt, and I told you. I even said that I didn’t want to mess anything up between us.”

Jenny: “I know, I’m sorry, but, it doesn’t make sense to me for us to love each other, but not be together.”

Jenny continues…

Jenny: “Besides, no one wants to date me when they see how close we are, and they definitely wouldn’t want to date me if they knew that we loved each other.”

James: “I don’t want to lose you. So… What do you want to do?”

Jenny: “Well, you don’t wanna be with me as anything more than ‘just friends,’ right?”

James: “Why am I starting to feel pressured? I mean, I feel like my best friend is giving me an ultimatum.”

Jenny: “O.K., nevermind.”

James: “Don’t nevermind-me. What do you want to do?”

Jenny: “Now, I don’t know.”

James: “Can’t we just love each other and stay friends?”

Jenny: “We could, but I love you more than as friends.”

James: “I know, me too.”

James continues…

James: “Ok, then let’s try, but we’re risking the possibility of losing this friendship, and it’s everything to me.”

Jenny: “So you want to be more than friends?”

James: “Well, if that’s the only way to keep you in my life.”

Jenny: “Just so you know, I’ve felt this way all along, since I first met you.”

James: “You waited 2 years to tell me? O.K., well, I guess I did too…”

Jenny: “I love you James.”

James: “I love you too, Jenny. So… ?”

Jenny: “What?”

James: “Will you be my girlfriend?”

Jenny blushes, and you can nearly see her warm heart beaming from her eyes, like fierce, shooting rays.

Jenny: “Yes, of course.”

Jenny smiles.

James: “Jenny, I never want to lose our friendship, even if we don’t make it as a couple.”

Jenny: “We’ll make it, we’ll be okay.”

James: “Will we still be friends, no matter what?”

Jenny: “I don’t know. I think so.”

James: “Good grief, here goes…”

Time passes by, Jenny and her love for James grew year after year, until one day…

James: “Jenny, what’s wrong?”

Jenny: “I don’t know, I feel like we should never have dated, and just stayed friends. It’s like, I’m afraid to tell you how I feel because I don’t want to hurt you.”

James: “Huh? What do you mean? Don’t you love me anymore?”

Jenny: “I do! Of course, I do, but only as friends.”

James: “Are you saying, you don’t want to be in a relationship with me anymore?”

Jenny: “I guess so.”

Jenny still loved James more than she could say, but she was afraid of getting too close. James felt sad, but more so, disturbed as to why Jenny put him through years of getting attached. He felt like a fool.

Jenny continued…

Jenny: “James?”

James: “Yeah?”

Jenny: “Can we stay friends?”

James: “No, I don’t think so. I don’t think we can be friends. Besides, I need time to heal.”

Jenny: “But I thought you wanted to stay friends no matter what?”

James: “I guess, I didn’t know then, that you’d eventually break my heart, and for no good reason.”

James continues…

James: “Maybe in time, we can become friends again, but right now, I just can’t.”

Three months pass. James ignored Jenny’s attempts to make contact, but a part of him secretly wanted to hear her voice. Besides, James had already moved on, and was now dating someone else. Jenny coincidentally bumps into James, but she sees another woman by his side. Jenny felt uncomfortable, but still said hello.

Jenny: “Hi James. Long time… How are you?”

James: Hi Jenny, long time. All is well, thank God. How are you? Oh, this is Monika, my girlfriend.”

Monika: “Hi, I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Jenny: “I’m well, thanks James. Nice to meet you, Monika.”

Jenny was hurting. She missed James so much, but she knew she had messed everything up, and now she feared she’d lost James to another girl.

She continued, as she held back her tears.

Jenny: “James, it would be great to be friends again. You know, I’ve tried calling. But you never pick up.”

James: “I’ve just been busy, but I really don’t think we can be friends anymore. It’s too weird now.”

Monika abruptly jumps in to give her two cents…

Monika: “It’s okay with me!”

James: “But it’s not okay with me. Jenny, we had everything besides our relationship, and I was so skeptical about messing up our friendship. You said we’d always be friends, but you also said you can’t be ‘just friends’ when you love someone more than as friends. So, no, we can’t be friends. So, no, I’m sorry.”

Jenny felt shattered. She wondered why it hurt so much when she was the one that broke it off in the first place. She stormed off in tears.

James felt that he had to push Jenny away. He liked her too much, and besides, he was dating Monika now. He didn’t want to remember the wounded feelings that he had stuffed deep inside, yet still lingered undeniably in his heart.

Hours passed, and time seemed to go by so slowly. Every second felt like a minute, and every minute, like an hour. James wanted Jenny back, but he felt bad to hurt Monika.

James: “Monika?”

Monika: “Yeah?”

All of a sudden, James blurts out…

James: “We need to break up. I’m sorry, but I think I’m not over my feelings for Jenny.”

Monika: “I know. I kinda always knew. I mean, your whole face turned red when you saw Jenny. I could never provoke that type of emotion in you. But, it’s O.K.”

Monika wasn’t attached to James. She knew that something was missing between them, so she didn’t feel the desire to say more. James dropped her off, and it was only moments before James found himself at the front door of Jenny’s house.

James rang the bell.

Jenny walked to the door, appearing as if she had just jumped out of the shower, still in her robe. Her eyes looked sad, red, and as if she’d lacked a good night’s rest.

She answers by listening at the door, without peeking out…

Jenny: “Who is it?”

James: “It’s me, James.”

Jenny opens the door.

Jenny: “What are you doing here?”

James: “I wanted to talk to you. I felt bad about how I talked to you. I didn’t mean what I said.”

Jenny: “It’s O.K.—Which part?”

James: “The thing is, I like you more than ‘just friends,’ so I can’t be just your friend. I love you.”

Jenny: “I love you too.”

James: “It’s over with Monika. She didn’t seem too disappointed. But when I saw you, everything came back; the memories of us, but even more so, what great friends we used to be.”

James continued…

James: “You made me feel happy, and when you left, I was miserable, but I really couldn’t see or talk to you for a while. It hurt too much”

Jenny: “I tried to call. I knew I made a mistake. I just got scared, I guess.”

James: “Do you still love me?”

Jenny blushed and softly responded.

Jenny: “Of course. Always. Do you still love me?”

James grabs her in his arms, caresses her long, wet hair, and delicately responds…

James: “I never stopped.”

Jenny: “James, I’m never gonna let you go again.”

James: “I want to be with you forever. You’re my best friend, and the only girl I’ll ever really love.”

Jenny: “Same here.”

James: “So…?”

Jenny: “What?”

James: “Will you be mine again?”

Jenny: “Yes, James— forever.”

James: “If you ever get scared again or have doubts, let’s just talk next time. The way that we used to communicate so well was what made our friendship so great. Promise me…”

Jenny: “I promise.”

James kissed Jenny good night, and he went back to his home feeling more alive, happy, and rejuvenated than he did in a long, long time.

It was merely 7am the next morning, and Jenny felt a sudden, undying urge to talk with James about the previous night.

James: “Hello?”

Jenny: “James…”

James: “Hi, Good morning sunshine.”

Jenny: “James, we need to break up. You said to tell you when I had doubts, but I already have them. I couldn’t sleep much last night. What I really missed was our friendship.”

James: “Is this a fucking joke?”

Jenny: “I’m sorry, James.”

Jenny felt truly remorseful, but she was still scared of getting too close.

James: “So, what do you want, Jenny?”

Jenny: “I guess, I want to know if we can still be friends?”

James: “O.K., fine.”

James was starting to grasp that there were bigger underlying issues as to why Jenny kept leaving. But one thing he knew for sure—none of this was an issue when they were ‘just friends.’

Anne Cohen is a lifestyle and relationship blogger based in Los Angeles, CA. Her blogs are Anne Cohen and Anne Cohen Writes. She contributes to various publications including The Huffington Post, Elite Daily, and many more. She's passionate about love, writing, chess, and more than anything, her two kids.

Welcome to Anne Cohen Writes!

Anne Cohen is the founder, owner, editor, and writer at ACW (Anne Cohen Writes). She was born in Chicago, IL, and is now based in Los Angeles, CA. She's a lifestyle & relationship blogger at ACW, and a regular contributor to The Huffington Post and Elite Daily. Anne also does SEO, SMM, and is the Marketing Director for various companies. Welcome to her blog!

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